


The Raven and the Wolf

by RaeAn



Category: Snow White - All Media Types, The Huntsman (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Hurt/Comfort, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24119950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeAn/pseuds/RaeAn
Summary: A strange young girl enters Ravenna's court with an offer for the queen. While she is hesitant at first, Ravenna soon learns that there is much more to this girl than meets the eye. Rating may change later.“Why did you never warn me of this one, Mirror?” Ravenna breathed, eyes closed as she contemplated the tumultuous arrival of the girl. For a moment the glimmering figure swelled and hummed before her. Then it spoke in rolling, lowly thundering tones.“Her beauty is not sustained as yours is, my Queen,” the Mirror answered. “You saw yourself, her beauty is not fair like other maidens you have sought out. It wanes and waxes unlike any other.”"So it's true," the Queen whispered.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Old Soul

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set near the beginning sequences of Winter's War. I was interested to explore the magic in Tabor while also giving Ravenna some more personal scenes. 

Few sought an audience with the Queen these days. And those that did simply came to futilely beg. But this girl was different.

“A young girl requests an audience with you, my Queen,” her guard had announced. “She brings a proposition, its nature she refuses to divulge to anyone except you.”

Her curiosity piqued, the aureate Queen signaled with an elegantly lifted finger for the guard to escort the girl into her court. 

Now as Ravenna sprawled over her gold-encrusted throne, she glared at the young girl sauntering between two guards towards her. The girl’s dark robes were tattered and dirtied from traveling and her young face was muddied and weathered from the road. Ravenna couldn’t help but recognize that the girl wasn’t much older than Snow had been when the Queen took the throne. 

However, unlike Snow, the girl’s skin was tanned and unusually scarred and worn for a child of her age. Her long hair fell in tangled raven waves over her shoulders, and her cracked lips curved dangerously in a slight grin. But the girl’s eyes most captivated Ravenna. Determination and wisdom beyond the child’s years gleamed in the pale green eyes as the girl fearlessly held the Queen’s gaze. Through the dirt and scars Ravenna could see that this child would grow to be a great beauty, one that could charm nations and bring men to their knees. But her beauty wasn’t fair in the way that Snow’s was. The child’s countenance presented a rugged aesthetic, a harsh, wild charm.

“Though she be but a child, be wary, my Queen,” Finn whispered in Ravenna’s ear as he stood beside her. “Strange stories about this one circle Tabor.”

As the child reached the throne, she gazed up at the magnificent display: the lavishly died fabrics draping the wall, the opulent gold decorating the throne, and the frightful Queen, commanding all.

“Kneel, child,” one guard barked.

Ravenna observed curiously as the child glanced sidelong at the speaker, her grin stretching to reveal a neat set of pearls.

“Of course,” she whispered, returning her gaze back to the Queen as she sunk to the floor.

“Child, what is your name?” the Queen crooned.

“Faolin, my Queen,” the girl replied.

“Hm, little wolf,” Ravenna hummed. “How fitting for the hunger I see in your eyes.”

At this the girl grinned again, not an innocent, childish grin but the grin of one tainted by secrets and darkness. Ravenna had seen many strange people in her life, but this child threatened to push the Queen over that careful border between curious and unsettled. 

“I’m told you have a proposition for me,” Ravenna continued. “Tell me: what does a child have to offer a queen?”

A chuckle bubbled in the girl’s throat.

“My youth,” she answered. 

At this the Queen’s playful intrigue shifted to hostile concern.

“All, out!” she ordered as she gripped the arms of her throne.

When Finn and the midnight-clad guards had scuttled away, the Queen locked icy gazes with the girl. 

“Speak, now,” Ravenna ordered in low terseness. Never had a young woman, or child for that matter, offered her lifeforce to the Queen like this.

The girl’s visage revealed her twisted pleasure in the turmoil. 

“I know that you must harvest life to sustain your own, your Grace,” Faolin began. “Your magic cannot give you power alone; it must be fed.”

As the child spoke, Ravenna sat in shock. This girl’s womanhood had yet to even begin sprouting; she was so young, yet she spoke with the words and knowledge of a woman.

“How do you know this?” Ravenna breathed. 

“Though I may appear young, I have lived many years,” Faolin responded. “But, alas, I am cursed, and I am nearing death’s door. I do not age as you do. Nor as any other human does. Instead of growing older with time, the changing of the seasons grants me increasing youth.”

Disbelief first struck the Queen. But then she considered that no other explanation could account for the strange child before her. 

“My proposition to you is this: let me work beside you, adding to your own my knowledge of many decades and lands. And in return I shall give you my youth. Take my years and turn back my time, while garnering lifeforce for yourself. I will grow older, and you will stay young. And when time grants me youth once again, you may harvest my years again. The cycle may continue endlessly.”

“What are you withholding from this proposition, girl?” the Queen rasped suspiciously.

“Perceptive indeed, my Queen,” Faolin replied. “My one request is this: when you take my life, I would ask that you balance my age to the strong, healthy prime of life, much like the age which you maintain yourself. I don’t revel in living as a child, nor do I relish the prospect of old age once more.”

Ah, now Ravenna understood. The child’s idea was equally as rewarding for Faolin as it was for Ravenna. 

“And if I don’t oblige your request?” the Queen pressed curiously. 

“Then I will be old and decrepit and of no use to you for many years,” the girl replied smartly. “If there comes a time when you need more life than I have to offer, I can easily gather girls for you or you can send out your guards as you have done before.”

Ravenna couldn’t deny her intrigue towards the child. She certainly didn’t require a spare syphon of youth, but the strange girl’s story fascinated her. Never had she encountered such magic as this “curse.” In her experience, when an individual was touched by magic, there was usually more to be found nearby. While these unknown elements presented a potential threat to the Queen, they also piqued her curiosity about the nature of the magic residing in Faolin. Against the prodding of Ravenna’s more defensive nature, her curiosity won out. 

“Come here, child,” Ravenna hummed, holding out a gold-draped wrist to the girl. Faolin took the Queen’s hand as she mounted the steps to the throne, coming to stand next to Ravenna.

As the Queen held Faolin’s hand, Ravenna snaked her other jeweled hand to gently grip Faolin’s small jaw, tilting it from side to side.

“You seem to hold a surprising wealth of knowledge,” Ravenna breathed, surveying the girl’s face. “And so I’m sure you know that I’ve killed entire villages: men, women,  _ and  _ children. I will not hesitate to end you.”

The Queen’s grip tightened on Faolin’s cheeks as Ravenna’s nails dug into the girl’s skin. 

“If what you say is true, then you are no child at all, which makes it that much more meaningless for me to dispose of you. If you dare betray me in any way, not only will you die, but you will die a slow, tormented death, remembered by none, and mourned by none. I will obliterate you and every part of your legacy on this earth. I have before, and I will not hesitate to do it once more. Never forget this.”

With unsettling pale eyes, Faolin met Ravenna’s gaze carefully from the angle into which Ravenna had forced her face. 

“Yes, my Queen,” she replied quietly, sinister knowledge radiating from her green eyes. 

For a moment the Queen and the child locked eyes, each assessing the other silently. And finally Ravenna released Faolin’s slim jaw and covered the child’s hand with her palm.

“I will accept your proposal, Faolin,” Ravenna whispered. “But never forget what I have told you today. Never forget who rules these lands.”

Faolin nodded silently, her gentle grin still resting on her lips. 

“Guards!” Ravenna called, and immediately the men clambered back into the court. “Take Faolin to the maids and have them properly bathe and clothe her. She will be the newest member of our court.”

As Ravenna urged Faolin towards the guards, Finn approached the throne. Waiting until the guards had left he said in a low voice, “My Queen, what have you brought into our house?”

“Finn, she will remain entirely dependent on me and will serve as a convenient source to ease my pain,” Ravenna replied. “Time will tell us of what she is capable.”

“She is dangerous, sister,” Finn rasped angrily.

“Exactly why I am keeping her by my side,” the Queen responded. “If she looks at me the wrong way, I will end her at no cost to myself.”

Finn’s icy gaze relayed his worry and indignation.

“Do not be jealous, brother,” Ravenna teased cruelly. “It’s rather pathetic.”

Finn’s jaw rippled, grinding his teeth together.

“Queen, you know all I want is your happiness and safety,” Finn growled through gritted teeth. “I have no doubt in your judgement and certainly not your power, but if this child, this thing, creates trouble, I will remove it.”

“You will do no such thing!” Ravenna raised her voice deliberately, her patience wearing thin. 

Finn bowed his head slowly, avoiding her fiery gaze.

“Trust me, brother,” the Queen breathed calmly, rising from her throne to place a gentle palm against his pale cheek. “I will provide for you, no matter what. We made a promise to each other and I intend to keep it. Fear not.”

“Never, my Queen,” Finn replied quietly, submissively leaning his head into her hand as he covered it with his own.

* * *

Ravenna wavered before the shimmering gold apparition, palms facing up in submission.

“Why did you never warn me of this one, Mirror?” Ravenna breathed, eyes closed as she contemplated the tumultuous arrival of Faolin.

For a moment the glimmering figure swelled and hummed before her. Then it spoke in rolling, lowly thundering tones.

“Her beauty is not sustained as yours is, my Queen,” the Mirror answered. “You saw yourself, her beauty is not fair like other maidens you have sought out. It wanes and waxes unlike any other. ”

“So it’s true,” the Queen whispered under her breath, eyes brimming with tears. Her interactions with the Mirror always drained her; her energy streamed from her body; her emotions churned like roiling water; her breaths grew shallow as her lungs struggled for air.

“And her heart is dark, my Queen,” the Mirror added, malevolence dripping from its words. “Beware, for although her beauty does not always rival yours, the darkness of her heart surely does.”

Ravenna hummed as she contemplated the Mirror’s words. While she tried to force her mind to consider Faolin’s childlike form as the aged woman she was, even the Queen herself struggled to see past the youthful limbs and ruddy cheeks. The woman was harboring some aspect that she couldn’t yet decipher, and the mirage of childhood only complicated the matter. Faolin would need to be made an adult once more soon. And then Ravenna would learn the darkest secrets of her heart, her true power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Ravenna explores Faolin's child-behavior in her court and speculates about the future of their exchanges.
> 
> Thanks for reading - comments/criticism welcome.


	2. Dangerous Play

A few weeks had passed since the child’s arrival, and Ravenna had grown accustomed to catching sight of her around the castle. As of yet she hadn’t needed Faolin for lifeforce or council, but Ravenna could feel her strength fading and knew the time was near. It had been years since her last feeding, and she could feel the energy begin seeping out of her limbs.

She paced quietly in her chamber contemplating taking life from the child. Would the magic work as Faolin had suggested? Would she be able to stop herself once the lifeforce began flowing? Would Faolin truly recover her age?

All these queries circled her mind as she stepped quietly across her stone floors. Resting her hands on the windowsill, Ravenna looked down into the courtyard, watching the servants’ children prance about the grass. And there, among them, was Faolin, her midnight hair floating like a dark shadow. What was she doing? Surely she had no interest in children’s games. 

Ravenna watched carefully, tracking Faolin’s every move. Faolin traipsed around a young boy with fiery red hair, seeming to whisper something in his ear. He then darted to a group of boys while Faolin rejoined a small group of girls braiding flower crowns in the grass. Soon the boys sauntered over to the circle of girls, the red-headed boy in the front jeering and teasing the girls. He kicked one girl in the back and she leapt up, angrily facing him. 

“I didn’t know children entertained you so,” Finn’s voice echoed from her chamber door.

“It’s not the children in which I’m interested,” Ravenna replied, continuing her survey from the window.

She watched curiously as the red-headed boy shoved the girl onto the ground and began kicking her again. Suddenly Faolin was there, and in a dark blur her fist flew into the red-headed boy’s face. As he collapsed onto the ground, she straddled his body and began pummeling him with her hands and elbows. A dark satisfaction sprouted in Ravenna as she watched  _ her  _ child ruthlessly attack her target. Perhaps there was indeed more to the child than met the eye.

While the boys jeered and chanted and the girls looked on in shock, an old maid finally waddled over to the fight, dragging the brawling young ones apart.

“Go retrieve Faolin and bring her to me,” Ravenna ordered Finn.

“Yes, majesty,” Finn replied before scurrying out of the room. 

Soon Finn returned with Faolin, her fists bloodied and her eyes ravenous. 

“My Queen, your  _ pet _ is out of control,” Finn growled as he thrust Faolin into the room with a tight grip on her arm. 

A satisfied smile grew on Ravenna’s face.

“I would beg to differ,” she hummed. “She’s quite in control.”

“But she should be  _ under  _ control,” Finn retorted hotly. 

“You may leave us now, brother,” the Queen replied, not taking her eyes from Faolin. 

Finn angrily released Faolin’s arm, stalking from the room.

“Are you going to punish me?” Faolin began, quietly. But no fear shone in her face, only cunning satisfaction.

“Child, you know I see all,” Ravenna replied, beginning to pace across the floor. “Now tell me: why did you do that?”

“I needed a way to win the approval of the young girls,” Faolin stated bluntly. “They didn’t trust me. I believe they sensed my abnormality.”

Ravenna lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. 

“So I prompted that idiot to tease the girls, convincing him that we secretly enjoyed that kind of attention,” the girl explained, shrugging. “And when he took it too far, as I knew he would, I protected the girls and now they trust me. It worked rather beautifully, if I do say so myself.”

A warm satisfaction blossomed in Ravenna’s chest. 

“And why did you need the girls to trust you?” the Queen probed further.

“The adults are uneasy around me and I need allies in order to survive in my current state,” Faolin responded, gesturing to her small body. 

“And the boys? Are they now your enemies?” Ravenna questioned.

“On the contrary, they respect me,” Faolin answered with a grin. “Even the red-headed idiot realizes I was just in my actions because he knows he went too far.”

“I would be inclined to agree; it worked rather beautifully. I’m impressed, child,” the Queen continued. “Let us walk together.”

Faolin paused meekly as Ravenna approached the door. “With respect, my lady, being seen strolling and discussing weighty matters with the Queen will likely inhibit the delicate social bonds I’ve created.”

The child was right; her endeavors to gain the trust of her peers would be offset by perception of unnatural interactions with the Queen.

“Well, then let’s conjure a more palatable relationship,” Ravenna offered her hand in a patronizing gesture. “Come, little wolf.”

Faolin begrudgingly took the Queen’s hand, realizing her role as the Queen’s adopted, little lost girl.  _ Her little pet. _ Faolin yearned for return to adulthood and escape from this powerless child-body, but she dared not push the Queen on the issue.

The pair wandered through the castle hallways, their immense ceilings and stone walls echoing their footsteps. _ How much larger the world seems when one is so small _ , Faolin mused, her gaze flitting to the Queen’s solemn face far above her own.

“Where are we going, my lady?” Faolin asked quietly.

“It’s no matter. Let us enjoy ourselves,” Ravenna replied nonchalantly, her tone revealing neither hostility nor amiability.

Faolin’s small heartbeat leapt suddenly into her throat. She never forgot the sting of the Queen’s nails in her cheeks from that first day in court or her threat to wipe her from the earth. She longed for acceptance into the Queen’s service, but she feared the Queen’s volatile whims. She’d seen them executed on others in the court, and she knew that gentle hand she now held could just as soon rip her heart from her chest.

Faolin calmed her breathing and nerves as the Queen led her into one of the expansive courtyards. They strolled through the sunlit gardens, warm, spring-light filtering through the leaves of the fruit trees. They bore a strange sunset-stained fruit that Faolin hadn’t seen before arriving at this castle. She studied it curiously; the sunlight caught on the fuzzy exterior of the round, little fruit.

Ravenna caught the child’s gaze as they reached a small bench in the heart of the grove. With a warm smile, she plucked one of the fruits from the high branches and offered it to Faolin. “Peaches, child,” the Queen said. “I brought them here from the southern border.” 

The Queen glided to sit on the small bench as Faolin ran her fingers over the textured surface of the colorful fruit. She took a gingerly bite, confused by the texture of the exterior and delighted by the nectar of the interior. She had never tasted anything so soft and sweet, and an uncontrollable grin graced her cheeks.

“This is delicious,” Faolin said, her childish grin now directed towards the Queen.

Faolin watched in confusion as an uncharacteristic mirth awashed Ravenna’s features. “Come here, silly child,” the Queen laughed. “More nectar found your face than your mouth.”

Faolin now realized the fruit juice dribbling down her chin as she approached the Queen. Ravenna produced a handkerchief and gently wiped Faolin’s face, and Faolin was suddenly struck by the strangeness of it all. She didn’t understand the reason for the Queen’s twisted roleplay, but she knew she must play along. 

“Come sit,” Ravenna implored. The tone carried no imperative, but Faolin obeyed regardless. The child rested the fruit on the bench and situated herself stiffly on the Queen’s lap. Her back was to the Queen’s chest as Ravenna laid her arms gently around Faolin, and again Faolin felt her heart in her throat as she realized her utter vulnerability. But perhaps she could suspend reality for the sake of this manufactured interaction. 

_ She was a real child. The Queen adopted her as her own. She was loved. _

The gentle embrace no longer presented as a veiled chokehold. The calm rise and fall of the chest at her back was not that of calculated manipulation but of selfless care. Faolin conjured a memory of her beginning years.  _ Not a childhood, for I was no child.  _ A rare true embrace from her mother or a loving pat from an elder. It had been so long since someone had taken care of  _ her _ . Faolin relaxed against the Queen’s body, nestling her head against the woman’s shoulder, and closing her eyes as she imagined the aura of incense around the Queen’s sun-warmed skin belonged to the character the Queen was now playing. A protector. A caretaker.  _ A mother.  _

Faolin rested in the conjured scene as the Queen’s arms encircled her. She let her physical sensations determine her perception. The spring light warmed her skin. The peach juice sweetened her tongue. The breeze rustled gently through the trees. The Queen smelled of spice and sun. Her body nestled snugly against the Queen’s embrace. She was safe, and she was the Queen’s.

“My sister had a child once,” the Queen’s throat hummed. “She loved that child more than life itself. I envied her that love. That intimacy. I’m afraid fate does not favor my cultivating that kind of bond.”

_ That’s why _ , Faolin concluded. The child understood her vulnerability to the Queen’s impulses, which granted the Queen latitude in her treatment of Faolin. If the Queen wanted to express this subliminal fantasy, Faolin would grant it. She had spent her life molding herself to survive.

But Faolin believed only one person in the Queen’s world truly held her unconditional favor - Finn. She had watched carefully the way the Queen treated her brother. Although she was sometimes harsh, Ravenna treasured the man fiercely. Faolin was not blind to Ravenna’s gentle touches and sympathetic glances reserved only for the snow-white man. She wouldn’t disillusion herself into believing Ravenna would ever hold the same affection for her. But the fantasy goaded her with suspicious comfort when paired with the assuaging physical proximity they now shared. Faolin had never understood when others discussed longingly their bright days of childhood. But now she understood. She could imagine that her struggle against the world was over. Someone infinitely more knowledgeable and powerful now shielded her from life’s tempest, and she could finally rest. She couldn’t deny the appeal of this illusion of childhood and shirking of the harsh, adult world.

* * *

Ravenna cradled the child against her breast. She began the patronizing facade as a means to wander the castle inconspicuously, but continued it privately because she sensed that it might ease the child and give her a taste of what holding the Queen’s trust could be. Judging by how Faolin now nestled her small head against Ravenna’s neck, she had been correct. But as the little ageling fell into the role of an adoring child, Ravenna felt an unfamiliar prick of warmth in her chest. She quickly suppressed the genuine reaction; that empathic connection was suitable only for Finn. And in all likelihood Faolin was simply flowing with the play of their unspoken agreement. She reminded herself that she held in her lap not a child but a cunning old woman.

But still she allowed herself to imagine what their relationship could be. Although their interactions were predicated on a service, Faolin could grow to honor her as Finn did. Her brother still walked that thin line between fear and love, as Ravenna preferred. But their relationship held the subtext of many years of struggle and trials. Perhaps this new pet might serve her not solely out of fear, but out of devotion as well. After all, if Faolin’s theory proved true, Ravenna would be preserving Faolin’s life with every service. Not a truly selfless act but more beneficial to another than most of her other endeavors. The Queen could rule Faolin with both fear and devotion - the fear of the threat the Queen had issued upon their first meeting and the devotion that Faolin would inevitably cultivate upon receiving eternal youth.

The Queen allowed herself a satisfied smile at the thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Ravenna weighs the decision to reverse Faolin's years


	3. End of an Age

The weeks trundled by, and the Queen continued to keep a watchful eye on the girl. Ravenna was judicious with her interactions with Faolin. Only a small smile in the courtyard and an occasional garden walk together. After their afternoon among the peach trees, Ravenna carefully rationed her attention on Faolin. It seemed she had cast a spell on the child. She could see in the way that Faolin’s face brightened at the Queen’s approach that something had changed. But the Queen still chose to tread lightly. If it was Ravenna’s attention the child desired, she would administer it sparingly, reserving it for use as a reward.

As weeks turned into months Ravenna knew that she couldn’t continue to treat Faolin as a child if she was to grow a more intimate understanding of the ageling. Not only that but, to the Queen’s amazement, Faolin was indeed growing smaller. The Queen decided it was time to advance her relationship with her pet.

That evening, she had Faolin brought to her chambers, and she beckoned the girl to her as she sat sipping wine in a luxurious armchair.

The little one’s bright eyes lifted with a smile as she knelt at the Queen’s feet, resting her head on Ravenna’s thigh. Ravenna gently stroked the dark tresses with a jeweled hand.

“Faolin, have you enjoyed your childhood here?” the Queen hummed quietly.

“Yes, my Queen,” Faolin replied. “I’m grateful for all you have given me.”

“I’m glad,” Ravenna said. “How would you like to restart another chapter of your life now?”

Faolin’s head jerked up and her eyes widened as a smile stretched across her face. 

“Yes, I’m ready,” the child said. Ravenna placed a hand gently against Faolin’s beaming countenance.

“This will not be a pleasant experience, but you must trust that I will end it quickly,” the Queen explained as she stood before the glowing embers in the fireplace. “Stand with me, and try not to struggle.” 

As the child stood before the Queen, Ravenna reached down, gripping the child’s slim jaw and tilting Faolin’s face to meet her own. 

“Wait,” Faolin said hurriedly, suddenly slipping out of her clothes.

Appalled, the Queen stepped back quickly. “Faolin, what are you doing?”

“When you take my years, I will grow,” she replied. “I don’t want to be stuck in this child’s clothing.”

Ravenna nodded in understanding and approached the bare child with furrowed brows, taking hold of the small jaw once again. 

“Don’t resist,” the Queen whispered. 

Faolin nodded silently, meeting Ravenna’s eyes in resolution. The Queen’s magic seeped into Faolin’s limbs, seeking her lifeforce, and began gathering it like a cloth absorbing water. For a moment, Ravenna felt Faolin’s intense terror spreading through her nerves, but as Faolin’s life began flowing from her little body, Faolin accepted a state of tremulous resolve. And surely, when Ravenna’s body began filling with Faolin’s lifeforce, the child’s body began changing. Her stature increased and her childish features developed into those of a woman. And suddenly Ravenna was holding not the pudgy cheeks of a wide-eyed child but the chiseled jaw of a formidably beautiful woman. The Queen quickly released the woman, cutting off the flow of lifeforce, and Faolin collapsed to the floor, gasping. 

Ravenna surveyed the astonishing woman she had brought into existence. As Faolin recovered and rose to face Ravenna once more, the new woman stood just shorter than the Queen, her pale, chilling eyes her only feature left untouched. Her face had slimmed, and definition had reshaped her cheeks. Her now full lips slightly parted as her chest heaved for breath, a chest that was certainly no longer a child’s. Faolin’s waist now curved gently, and her strong hips now cradled her newly matured flower. 

“You like what you see, my Queen?” Faolin rasped breathlessly, her voice no longer carrying the high pitch of a child, but the low silky tones of a woman. 

Ravenna brought her fingers to Faolin’s new face, young like her own, but still possessing wisdom beyond her years. The Queen tilted the woman’s jaw, examining her beautiful features. Although a few scars still riddled her skin, her eyes shone brightly from under her thick lashes and her cheeks curved elegantly under the shade of her shadowy waves. Her allure was not that of the pure, fair maidens Ravenna usually consumed. As the Mirror had claimed, her dark features betrayed no fairest blood but instead an untamed, dusky handsomeness.

“Yes, I do,” Ravenna replied with a grin. “And so too will many others. But for now you mustn’t oblige anyone without my consent.”

“Is that jealousy I hear, my Queen?” Faolin responded insolently. And so ended the fantasy they had entertained.

Anger flared in Ravenna’s chest and suddenly she drove a jeweled hand across that face which she had held so gently a moment before.

“You have yet to earn my trust,  _ child _ ,” Ravenna growled deliberately. “I believe you have the potential to be a powerful weapon. But until that time, I will not have you compromise my court to satisfy base desire.”

“As your brother does?” Foalin replied lowly, her insolence clearly undeterred by the Queen’s outburst. “I’ve seen what he does with the women. You know.”

“Finn has proven himself time and again to me,” Ravenna explained calmly. “I know that he won’t betray me for foolish infatuation.”

“I see,” Faolin responded, her gaze dropping as a shiver racked her bare limbs. 

Ravenna sauntered to her expansive wardrobe and retrieved a thick, regal robe, dyed red and fringed with gold. When Faolin had dawned the robe, the Queen gestured to a couple lushly padded chairs near the fireplace saying “Come sit. Let us talk for a while.”

As the women sat, Ravenna conjured a flame in the fireplace. 

“Faolin, tell me: have you ever loved someone?” the Queen began softly, assessing Faolin’s dark face carefully. 

“I loved my mother,” Faolin responded readily, seemingly unperturbed by the intimate question. “But truly, she didn’t love me. She wanted a child, and as you can imagine, I was something of an abomination. Old body and a young mind—an unsettling combination, I’m sure.”

“Well, then answer me this: have you ever been  _ in _ love?” Ravenna probed intentionally, sipping her wine. These were the questions she had refrained from when Faolin was a child, not wanting to break the careful spell she had woven. Now she could attempt to further uncover Faolin’s true nature.

“I’ve thought I was before,” Faolin answered, quiet anger simmering in her carefully toned voice. “When I was in the prime of life before my childhood—a few decades ago—building relationships with people my age became much easier than it had been in my beginning years. I didn’t stand out since my physical age and maturity matched those around me. I grew friendships with the women in my town and even fell into an intimate relationship with a man. For years everything was so good, I just couldn’t bear to ruin the spell and risk divulging my secret. I loved those women and that man, and they loved me. And I loved the feeling of normalcy. But over the course of a decade or so, my secret became physically apparent as I aged in one direction, and they in the other. Nothing happened suddenly, but my relationships began becoming distant and strained. People began pulling away from me, and when I finally admitted to my closest friends my curse, they didn’t understand. They thought I was practicing dark magic or some other forbidden art. I then told the man with whom I lived, the man I loved, and he seemed to accept it. But I realized the finality of it all when a few months later, that same man left me, claiming a life with me to be too ‘unsettling’ and ‘unnatural.’ In the next few months, I had nobody. Not only was I an outcast, but soon, the atmosphere became hostile. People began harassing me, and when I feared for my life, I fled. So to answer your question, yes and no. At one time when everything was good, I would say yes. And now, after I realized none of it was real, I would say no. That wasn’t love. I’d like to believe love doesn’t hurt like that.”

Ravenna had suspected something like this. No one with a condition like Faolin’s could have escaped hatred. But at least Ravenna had her brother and her sister. It seemed Faolin truly had no one. But because of this Faolin wouldn’t fall for a man’s loveless façade that many other women would. She had learned her lesson long ago.

“And what of lust? What of your experiences with it?” Ravenna pried further. Almost as potent as love, lust drove men and, sometimes, women to great lengths. But that balance of power lies in control—whether lust controls one or one controls lust. She needed to know where along that spectrum Faolin lay.

“What a boldly intimate question, my Queen,” Faolin replied with a mischievous smile. 

“And I would like a shamelessly frank answer,” Ravenna returned curtly.

“I’ve looked like this once before,” Faolin sighed, gesturing to her young body. “And as you said, many were interested in what they saw. After fleeing the town I had once loved, I began taking what I could get from the world, seeing as it was loath to give anything willingly. I found that life’s simple pleasures should be indulged. And lust is the most simply satiated of all, when both parties maintain the same mindset. From my experience it’s a simple need like food or shelter; it just takes another person to satisfy it. And many endeavored to have me satisfy their needs, both men  _ and  _ women, some of which I obliged, some I didn’t.”

Faolin shrugged with an arch grin resting on her lips.

“But never was I a slave to it,” she continued earnestly. “I saw how it ruthlessly enslaved men, how it drove them to betray and kill. And I knew to always keep myself from the edge of its unrelenting pull. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t make use of it, as both a weapon to wield and a source to satisfy my own desires.”

Ravenna rested her forearms on the lush arms of the chair in satisfaction. The child, the woman, was sublime. She had already learned all the lessons Ravenna dreaded to teach her. The lessons she had taught Freya all those years ago.

“Tell me, Faolin,” Ravenna began mischievously. “Which do you prefer, men or women?”

Faolin’s lips curved in an amused grin.

“Well, from my experience, each has their strengths,” Faolin began coyly. “I find that men satisfy more deeply when they do the job right. But they rarely do the job right. However, a woman always knows what a woman wants.”

Ravenna scoffed with a huff as she sank back into the chair. She had found that women weren’t as susceptible as men to that relentless physical ensnarement that was lust. However, women were so eager to lose themselves for something which might satisfy that bottomless yearning they all seem to have for appreciation, for acceptance. Love. It renders the female creature more susceptible to manipulation of another kind. When they believe they are truly cherished and wanted, they become clay in the hand, tender for sculpting into any form. And yet they too are subject to the throes of lust, though not in entirety as are men. In a sense, they are doubly as malleable as men.

“Quite true,” the Queen replied with a nod. While she prided herself on her seduction of men, women had always been just as easily within her reach. Ravenna never endeavored to maintain close relationships with anyone other than her siblings. As such she didn’t interact with others, particularly other women, very often. However, the Queen reserved an intimate understanding of women’s minds, a thorough perception of words which they would like to hear. And when the need arose, Ravenna simply translated that knowledge into a working verbal and physical manipulation of those women’s minds. 

A quiet fell between the two as Faolin assessed the Queen intently. “And you, my Queen?” the dark woman ventured softly.

Ravenna hummed in amusement at her pet’s forwardness once more. 

“Our minds and bodies are weak. Those that don’t learn to control both become slaves to those of us who do,” Ravenna replied. “Balancing life’s pleasures allows dominion over those who allow themselves to be ruled by base desire. It has its time and place—how well I know—but otherwise it is simply a tool for manipulation.”

“My Queen, as  _ stimulating  _ as this exchange is, I fail to perceive the intention of the interview…” Faolin ventured curiously.

Ravenna’s lips arched in a slight grin. 

“You have become closer to my workings in such a shorter time than any other person. At this point I have two options to deal with you: keep you close as a confidant or eliminate any threat you may pose by disposing of you completely. I need to know the inner facets of your mind so that I can decide which course of action to follow.”

At this Ravenna watched Faolin’s cheeks pale as the woman apparently remembered her complete powerlessness in the presence of the queen. 

“I’ve given you my word of good faith, but command me how you will and allow me to demonstrate my devotion, my Queen,” Faolin said, a frantic twinge distorting her words. “Because of the nature of our agreement, my life is quite literally in your hands. But this aside, I desire to please you. Please, let me prove my worth.”

Ravenna’s chest roiled with warm contentment at the profession of absolute devotion to her. She controlled the creature completely.

“You shall have your opportunity, child,” Ravenna reassured the woman. “I have a delivery for my sister in the northern kingdom. It is fortnight’s journey from here. I shall send you and a battalion of guards to make the delivery. While you are there, I would like you to discreetly take an inventory of her grounds. I want to know what kind of forces she trains, what supply lines she receives, what courtiers she entertains, what funds she maintains. Everything you can gather. I have reason to believe she may be deceiving me as of late.”

Ravenna watched carefully as Faolin’s tense face suddenly relaxed. 

“Yes, your majesty,” she replied. “When do I leave?”

“I can arrange everything by tomorrow morning,” Ravenna said as she stood, Faolin following suit. “But you’ll need some different clothing…”

The queen turned to face Faolin, fingering the gold fringe on the lapel of the robe. “I don’t believe this garb is best suited for traveling,” the queen hummed, retrieving an old set of traveling robes from the wardrobe and laying them across the bed before approaching Faolin once more.

Ravenna deftly unknotted the tie at Faolin’s waist and slipped her hands under the robe at Faolin’s shoulders as the woman eyed her curiously. Ravenna’s palms slid down Faolin’s muscled arms as she freed the woman from the robe, shamelessly assessing her work. 

“My Queen, would you not preserve a woman’s decency?” Faolin whispered with a sly grin.

Ravenna met Faolin’s gray eyes intently. 

“Don’t you understand, child?” Ravenna breathed, intoxicating power flooding her mind as she cupped a hand around Faolin’s cheek. “You are mine. Wholly mine.”

* * *

“Freya, I’m sending to you an agent of mine,” Ravenna breathed into the raven she cradled. “She believes she is coming to investigate your kingdom and bring me word of your operations, but you are the only one I can trust. I need you to test her.”

Ravenna whispered her instructions to the bird, detailing her intentions for her sister and her new pet. The plan must be executed flawlessly or Faolin would catch wind of a conspiracy. But Ravenna needed to know the true nature of Faolin’s loyalty to her, and the best tool to evaluate that loyalty would be none other than her most trusted confidant. 

She watched the bird flutter up and out of the skylight, carrying her message north to the ice kingdom. It had been decades since she’d had anyone like Faolin, and the Queen entertained the flicker of hope that the ageling would not fail her.


End file.
